Marantz SR7012 9.2CH Networking AV Receiver Reviewed!

[WhiteCoatGeek]

Denon X6400H and Marantz SR7012 have same price with former having 2 more channels and 140 wpc. If SR7012 doesn't have the improvements like a larger toroid power supply of SR8012, whats the point in buying Marantz over Denon? Are there any improvements in Marantz SR7012 over Denon X6400H?

 

[everettT]

Denon X6400H and Marantz SR7012 have same price with former having 2 more channels and 140 wpc. If SR7012 doesn't have the improvements like a larger toroid power supply of SR8012, whats the point in buying Marantz over Denon? Are there any improvements in Marantz SR7012 over Denon X6400H?

The name? The pricing schedule seems to have reflected the same overall the last few years.

 

[PENG]

Denon X6400H and Marantz SR7012 have same price with former having 2 more channels and 140 wpc. If SR7012 doesn't have the improvements like a larger toroid power supply of SR8012, whats the point in buying Marantz over Denon? Are there any improvements in Marantz SR7012 over Denon X6400H?

It seems to be a supply and demand driven phenomenon that could be area specific. In the US and Canada, the X6200/X6300H used to cost a few hundred dollars more than the SR7010/7011, but that changed in the last year or two, they dropped the list price of the Denon. Else where in the world, such as in the far East, Europe and Australia, the AVR-X6400H does cost more, as it should.

In my opinion, the AVR-X4400H has almost identical specs (just less features) and lab measurements as the SR7012, has it's price point in between the X6400H and SR7012 and is a much better deal. I just replaced my Marantz ex-flag ship prepro with the X4400H and am very happy about it's performance so far. The only features missing in the Denon X4400H are the multichannel analog in that few people need, and the phono (MM) in.

Toroidal transformer is not always better. Here's a good article to read if you want to know more on this topic.

https://www.soundstage.com/maxdb/maxdb071998.htm

Suffice to say the flag ship Denon AVR that is listed $1,000 more than the Marantz flagship, opted for a E-I core transformer this time around. Previous flag ship such as the 5308, 5805 did use toroids.

 

[IMWhizzle]

I was curious how the pre-outs on the Marantz 7011 measured. Unfortunately there is no amp disconnect feature for alle channels (only the hack for the mains). Hope someone can shed more light to use, even though the receiver is a couple of years old now. My five channel amp have a sensitivity input of 1.5v.

 

[PENG]

I was curious how the pre-outs on the Marantz 7011 measured. Unfortunately there is no amp disconnect feature for alle channels (only the hack for the mains). Hope someone can shed more light to use, even though the receiver is a couple of years old now. My five channel amp have a sensitivity input of 1.5v.

The measurements of the following should give you a good idea of what you can expect from the SR7011

Audioholics.com review:
SR8012

ASR reviews:
SR6014
AV7705

ASR reviewed the SR6014. The SR7011 should performed about the same, likely a few dB worse, like the AV7705 did, but imo there shouldn't result in any audible difference. So just relax and enjoy, especially if your 5 channel amp only needs 1.5 V for rated output, unless you listen loud, sit far away, and/or have low sensitivity speakers.

What did the online spl calculator tell you about your power needs? That should always be the first and most important step for anyone who is concerned about sound quality degradation due to pre-amp and/or power amp output limits. If you only need preamp output up to 0.5V, power amp output 10 W, then any AVR will do, but if you need preamp output up to 4 V, and power output 300 W/500 W 8/4 Ohm, then you would have to choose carefully.

You do have the option to run the front left and front right levels in "pre-amp mode" (practically speaking), using the amp assign feature. Whether it would make any audible improvements or not, it's free and easy to use that feature, so why not?

 

[Rolljdc]

Does SR7012 have a pre-amp mode (which disconnect the pre-amp to the amp}? Also, if it does, what is the voltage output?